1834 Large Cent,...Trick...or Treat?

I think it is probably real, I think it has had a problem with corrosion in the past an the coin was cleaned to get rid of it. What I can't understand that no one has mentioned is that it looks like someone has been pecking at the center of the reverse with an ice pick.

 

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A few more descriptions of the Rev.D...

1 - the CEN(T) leans left.
2 - small center dot with a smaller dot above and to the right.
3 - from the smaller, upper dot...a light, crooked crack runs between O(NE).
4 - delicate crack through O(F AM)ERICA to rim.

I can see CEN(T) leaning left and there seems to be something going on with the center dot...but I can't tell anything more from these pictures.
If it's a fake, someone went to quite a bit of trouble to make it. I wish I could find some documentation about the left foot of CEN(T).

 

I appreciate everybody's input, and I was hoping that Conder would weigh in given his other posts on coppers. I paid about half of numismedia's FMV for a middle AU, so even given the cleaning...I may well end up keeping it. In time it will darken, and look a little less freakish.

It will arrive on monday and we'll see what it looks like

Nightowl

 

If it's genuine (which I believe it is), it's definitely N-4 (R.2). 1834s are easier to attribute than some other years. In addition to the diagnostics you mentioned, star 6 is immediately above, and points to, the coronet.

Good luck ! Can't wait to see the finished photos.

 

Noyes says "double center dot, second above right" i.e. a smaller dot to the NE of the main one. Hard to say if that + fuzzy photography + corrosion explains the dot-funk Conder mentions. We'll see.

 

It's here...

The coin arrived this morning, and yes, it's been cleaned in the past, but I think we all knew that's not the natural color of a 175 yr old copper coin. There is much mint luster present, and the rusted die is correct.

Still, it's not been abrasively cleaned, has remnants of red in protected areas, and given what I paid for it, I am going to keep it as a decent example of a matron head LC. I don't have a lot of time to mess with pictures right now, but I took these real quick in flourescent lighting. The coin still appears a little more "brassy" than it appears in hand. I'll take better pics later.

Conder is a psychic...the damage to the center of the reverse looks intentionally inflicted, and that's unfortunate. It'll never see a slab. I have removed it from the airtite and placed it in an old paper envelope for now. That should help the freakish color some.

Nightowl

 

Yep the reverse has led a rough life, but if you are happy then I am glad. And the obverse does have some really nice details, too bad about the color.

 

I think it I'm OK at the price. I believe the rim of the reverse, which would leave one with the impression that it's lead a much harder life than it has... is imparted by the worn out, rusted reverse die that they used....but the damage in the center is the real bummer....that and the color.

Thanks.....

Nightowl

 

Conder has pictures of all the varieties of the 1834 cents and knows what the center dots look like.

 

It's still an attractive coin (imo)...congrats!!

 

Which means Newcomb and Noyes are psychics, right ?

 

When Conder types, Leadfoot listens.

 

I have the utmost respect for Conder's opinion. He's obviously knowledgable on the subject. As for the guys who wrote the book being psychic....they weren't in on the conversation, and it was the "ice pick" comment that was a little uncanny. You can tell from the picture that something's going on there...but it's a little hard to see.

Nightowl